


Five Emotions Worth Feeling

by blackcanarii



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:38:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcanarii/pseuds/blackcanarii
Summary: Ashley's always been known for being cold-hearted. Francisco doesn't understand why she's like this and the two don't seem to see eye to eye very often. That is till they're forced to work together.





	1. Chapter 1

Ashley was cold.

From the way, her pale blue eyes burned into anyone who caught her gaze.

To the way her tone seemed set at a natural monotone manner, only ever changing when she was snapping at someone it seemed.

 

She was the textbook definition of cold-hearted. And these mannerisms always confused Francisco, after all, how could someone naturally be that mean? Half of him fell amused when he considered that maybe her heart really was covered in ice. Though at this thought, the other half of him always felt pity.

 

It was times like these he considered trying to be friends with her. But, every time went the same. He’d try to make conversation with her, give her his best smile, a sly compliment maybe. The end result never changed; Ashley’s cold glare would fall on Francisco and she’d tell him to get out of her way.

 

Then he’d make a snarky comment about how rude she was just because he had no impulse control. 

And she would give him a bitter scoff, every now and then gracing him with a bitter smile to match.

Francisco could only name three emotions he had seen the stiff chemist show.

 

One, Indifference.

Two, Annoyance.

Three, Interest.

 

From there she was an enigma to Francisco.

 

Her indifference was like a default. 

Her annoyance always came around Thomas or Hartley. Or whenever Francisco would give her compliments and try to help with her projects.

Though her face of interest was the most amusing to Francisco. It was this confusing, sort of look that reminded him of a cat. Her hair would fall over her shoulder as she tilted her hair, looking at whatever or whomever it was that was interesting to her. It was like she’d studied them for a moment. Before once more, falling to emotions one or two.

 

A groan escaped Francisco’s lips as he sat at his dark grey desk. Yes, working as a mechanical engineer was his dream. However, when the place of work was at your ‘rival’s’ family owned laboratory that was a different story.

Not only was he graced with the frigid and stiff personally of Ashley Morgan. He was also graced with the obnoxious parasite that was her brother, Thomas Morgan.

 

He supposed that Ashley was the better of the two, she didn’t talk much and while awfully withdrawn she never went out of her way to insult Francisco--at least not too much. Though Thomas made sure to insult Francisco whenever he could.

 

However, Francisco did notice that he always got more strung on insulting him when their other co-worker Hartley was around. Leading Francisco to believe he had fallen for their physicist colleague. Although, Francisco also knew Hartley was fond of a pink haired girl who showed up in his lab every now and then.

But that was neither here nor there.

 

The blue pen in Francisco’s hand tapped his desk as he stared at his lit up screen with the faint sense of boredom. He was supposed to be coming up with blueprints on an updated DNA analyzer. The previous model was...blocky. It took too long to provide results and the scientist in the chemist department often complained about it.

So Francisco took it upon himself to volunteer to come up with a better one. Thinking about it now it was a dramatic statement of an over-achiever. Which he typically wasn’t.

 

His eyes flickered to the time on the monitor. 1:00am.

See, right now he’d normally be at home. Playing a game of some sort with one of his friends--maybe Blaine or Tommy. Even Konner was a fun opponent when he and Blaine weren’t arguing at all times.

But, it was safe to say he’d much rather be listening to Konner and Blaine fight over a mispronounced character name then looking at blueprints for some stupid device he didn’t even use on a day to day basis.

 The only reason he hadn’t already clocked out actually was that he was sure Claire Morgan--Ashley and Thomas’s mother and owner of R.A.T.S Laboratory--would promote him.

 She was always nice to him, and that meant something considering she wasn’t even pleasant to Thomas half the time.

 

Though then again who would be.

 He snickered at the thought, finding his own thoughts more amusing than this work.

 

“I need the blueprints.”

 The sharp and formal tone made Francisco jumped, quickly spinning around in his chair. He then flinched as the lights were turned on. The fluorescent glow making him hiss under his breath slightly.

 

Ashley stood in the doorway of Francisco’s lab, her attire a white button up and dark blue pencil skirt. A lab coat over her shoulders per usual. Her dark, almost black hair was in a high ponytail, falling over her shoulders slightly when she moved.

 Her clean look makes Francisco cringe at his own appearance.

 

His long hair was tied back, though frizzy strands fell from the front into his face. Under his own lab coat, he wore a t-shirt and black jeans. He didn’t understand the point in looking so formal if he would just be cooped up in his lab from sunrise to sunset.

 

“You need what?” His tired voice responded. He was sure he looked like a deer in headlights right now.

 The way Ashley’s eyebrows furrowed confirmed this. Her left hand falling to her hip, “The DNA Analyzer blueprints of model 1.5. I need them”

 “You need the old blueprints? Why?” He set his pen down, the object making a faint tapping sound as he did so.

 

Ashley’s feet never moved from the line in the doorway. From her pale skin to sharp--and quite frankly almost awkward--movements, she seemed very android like in nature.

 

“Because my mother wants a new model built.”

Considering Francisco’s last thought, and the way the blocky sentence fell together, a light chuckle fell from the engineer’s lips.

 

“Uh yeah, I know and I’m not sure if she told you but I’m building it actually.” He flashed her a polite grin.

 And that’s when Francisco learned that Ashley could show a fourth emotion.

 

Disappointment.

 

It was hard to catch. The way her lips sank to a frown and her pale blue eyes flickered like waves in the ocean. Her eyebrows creased, as her gaze went from the left to the right. Like she was pondering something.

 “Ok.” Was the only word spoken. The tone held no emotion--which wasn’t new.

 

But even so, Francisco felt a sting of pity for the girl. He wasn’t sure he understood why she looked so crestfallen but if it was because of him then….

 “B-But I don’t wanna do it actually,” He forced a scoff, waving a quick hand, “You can do it if you want?” His eyebrow raised as his caramel toned eyes looked at her.

 

Ashley’s motions started to appear calculated. Her hands falling to her sides as she looked at the toe of her heels.

And there was a pause.

 

“I believe the best option would be for us to work together.”

 This was her calculated statement. The twelve words took Francisco back a bit and he blinked confusion crossing his expression and replacing the previous one of guilt.

 Why do you wanna work on this so badly? Not that I’m saying you can’t help ‘s just...not your department ya know?” He flashed an uncertain smile.

 

He was right about that. Ashley Morgan was a chemist at heart, she was the head of the chemistry department--and that wasn’t just because of nepotism but instead because of her natural talent.

 Physical chemistry, Inorganic, and organic chemistry, analytical chemistry. You name the area and Ashley was probably exceptional in it.

 

“I’m well aware of that fact.” Her tone became sharp, almost as though she assumed that he found her stupid. Though she gave him no chance to clarify this fact and instead continued to speak.

 “However, if you’re curious of the mutual benefits I can quickly explain them. Once the analyzer is finished an presented to my mother, we’ll explain the updated made on the design as well as performance.”

 

Ashley waved a hand as she spoke, her feet still planted in the doorway of the lab, almost as if she didn’t dare to step in further.

Her glasses slid down her nose a bit and she pushed them up before her explanation continued.

 “When she’s thoroughly impressed your placement in the Mechanically Engineering branch will surely move up.” She placed her hands at her sides once more, an indication that she had stopped talking.

 

Francisco cleared his throat, “Right...Right.” He frowned slightly before asking, “What benefit do you get out of this? You didn’t answer my question. How does this benefit you?”

 

There it was again, the hesitation that flashed in Ashley’s eyes was back and she opened her mouth to speak but paused.  

 

“I can’t tell you that.”

 He frowned but decided not to push, “Ok well...why me? I thought you hated me so why are you working with me?”

 Ashley’s gaze went around his lab as she strung together her response.

 “I will be blunt,”

 He laughed and cut her off, “You weren't being blunt before?”

 

Ashley’s hissed, annoyance crossing her expression before scowling, “I do find you obnoxious. Though you won’t understand it, our partnership in this project is helpful.”

 Francisco scoffed, figuring he wouldn’t get a proper response from her so the only thing he could do was give up.

 He wouldn’t mind working with her he supposed. While she might be a bit rude he could...manage.

 “Alright then, Morgan. We’ll work together.” He extended his hand to her.

 Ashley simply stared at him as though he were daft and a chuckle fell from Francisco’s lips. She was amusing.

“Come on, I’m not gonna take your hand off or poison you.”

 

Ashley stepped in, her heels making a clicking sound as she stopped in front of Francisco’s chair. A look of mere content and perhaps faint interest in her expression as she shook his hand.

 

“We’ll work together then.”


	2. Chapter 2

Ashley’s eyes fluttered open before quickly closing at the natural, yet bright light coming through her window. She let out a breath, starting to sit up as her hand reached over to grasp for her glasses on her nightstand.

 

As she slipped the rectangular frames onto her face, her eyes opened and she looked at the clock. It was 7 am, she had to be at work at 8 am. Her mother was most likely already gone. She made clear her preference to be at work before sunrise and when Ashley and Thomas expressed more than extreme disdain for this, she stopped forcing them to arrive so early.

 

Her morning routine was the same. It always was. After all, if you do the same thing every morning there’s no room for surprises, unwelcome uncertainty, or anything like that.

 

7:05 am. She was out of bed, stretching as a few strands of her nearly black hair fell into her face. She’d wake up Thomas, he was still asleep per usual.

 

As she started the walk to her brothers' room, she said a brief greeting to Thorn, the Egyptian Mau cat that was laying outside of Thomas’s door. The cat had a preference for him after all. Most animals did.

 

Which Ashley always found odd as the opposite was true for her. Animals hated her...but she learned to deal. Thorn moved from the doorway, sitting behind Ashley as he waited for Thomas. Just like every morning.

 

Ashley raised her fist and knocked on Thomas’s door.

Nothing happened the first time. Rarely ever did it after all. So she knocked again, a sigh escaping her lips.

 

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, I don’t have all morning.” She called out, sounding only slightly annoyed. This time the faint sounds of shuffling were audible.

 

Finally, the door opened and Thomas was visible to her. He wore round glasses, his dark shaggy hair sticking up in every direction and Feu, the bearded dragon belonging to her brother, rest on his shoulder.

 

“Aw, Sleeping Beauty? Yeah, I guess I am prettier than you huh?” He grinned and walked past her.

 

Ashley blinked, letting out a breath, “I have the bathroom first this morning. It’s a Thursday.” She said, slightly matter-of-factly. This causing Thomas to scowl, turning on his heel.

 

“Oh come on!” He groaned. This argument was expected. It happened every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It was unnecessary but Ashley always entertained it even so. It was the bit of flare in her usually stagnant day.

And so that’s what she did, she argued with him. Snapping a snarky response to every obnoxious one he gave her. The argument ended right on time, but 7:20 am she was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth and doing her hair.

 

7:40 am She was getting dressed.

7:458am She was eating and grabbing her jacket, yelling for Thomas to hurry up so they could leave.

 

The car ride was decent at best. Ashley drove and Thomas messed with the radio, the window, and the air conditioning. He yelled at people on the street, called people and talked obnoxiously on the phone.

 

But then at 8:30 am they arrived at R.A.T.S Laboratory. Here’s where her schedule got shaky. They’d enter the lobby and she’d look at the time. Per usual she had enough time to grab a coffee.

 

“Morgan, heard you’re working with Garza on the DNA Analyzer.” The stuck up, obnoxiously British voice was unmistakable. Hartley Ezra.

 

Ashley’s sharp eyes flickered from her cup of coffee to meet the almost mocking gaze of Hartley. She almost forgot about the project with Francisco.

 

Well ok, that was a lie. She did remember. How could she not after all? She had asked Francisco to work with her because she needed to….

The reasoning wasn’t important. However, she didn’t want everyone to know they were working on the project together.

She blinked her focus returning to Hartley and his obnoxious statement.

 

“I would not say I’m working with him. I’m simply supervising the job he does on the analyzer and offering advice on how to advance the machine to better benefit the chemistry department.” She said, her tone slightly annoyed already.

 

Hartley didn’t buy it, “Really? I-” Ashley cut him sharply.

“Where did you hear that from?” She said, trying not to sound as agitated as she was.

“Francisco told Lynx, Lynx told me.” He said as though it were obvious.

 

Ashley exhaled rather sharply, “Well, Lynx must have told you the wrong thing.” She said, looking to the clock on the wall. She had a moment to stop by Francisco’s lab and figure out a work schedule as well as tell him not to go spreading their partnership around.

 

As her eyes flickered back ahead she realized Hartley was talking, “-And it’s annoying to hear that-”

“I have to go,” Ashley said, cutting him off abruptly, not giving him a chance to respond as she started her way to the elevator and to Francisco’s Lab.

  


Ashley’s heels clicked as she walked out of the elevator and towards the rather large lab. The door was already open and she peeked into the room, spotting Francisco at the workshop table.

“Francisco?” She called out.

 

He jumped slightly before quickly turning around. Flashing a cheesy grin, “Ash, hey!”

Ash? What was that? His nickname for her? “It’s Ashley.” She said, accidentally sounding harsher then she meant to.

Francisco blinked and nodded, disappointment crossing his face for a moment but his smile was quickly back.

 

She frowned. Her opinion on Francisco was blurry. She disliked his giddy optimism, she disliked his messy lab, the way he gave her random compliments. Yet, she did have to respect him. He was one of the most talented mechanical engineers in the facility.

 

“Hello.” She greeted once more, further stepping into the lab, “I’d prefer if you’d refrain from telling people I’m helping you with the DNA Analyzer.”

‘’Oh,” He nodded, “That’s cool, is there a reason? Or am I not allowed to ask like last time?” A chuckle fell from his lips as he finished speaking.

 

“I can tell you, I simply find it would be obnoxious to explain to everyone why it benefits us and I would highly prefer if my brother and mother were unaware till it was finished.” She explained, pushing up her glasses.

Surprisingly, Francisco quickly understood, “Ah, gotcha, yeah sorry about the Lynx thing. She asked I told.” He admitted with a shrug.

Ashley simply hummed, “It’s alright.”

Francisco gave her another bright smile and waved, “Well I’ll see you after work, Ashley.”

Ashley nodded, her eyes flickering to her watch. She was 5 minutes behind schedule. Damn it. A sense of panic filled her, though it wasn’t present on her face as she turned on her heel and walked out.

 

The day flew by per usual. She supervised the Genetic Toxicology division for a majority of the day and wrapped up her work with Hartley with testing medicines. As much as she hated to admit it, they worked well together.

 

It was amusing though as Hartley always wrapped up work early, going to East Wing Hospital for his second job--Which Ashley wasn’t sure he needed since he was already racking in income but, whatever the passion she supposed.

 

“Ashley!” A bolt of surprise ran through Ashley as she turned around to face the source of the yell.

She saw Thomas, standing in the doorway to her lab with a grin, “Time to go, you coming or do I get the car to myself?” A playful grin crossed his face.

Ashley took the keys from her pocket and tossed them to Thomas, who sputtered to catch them, “You’ve got the car to yourself.” Ashley responded, brushing her hair over her shoulder. A look of disbelief crossed Thomas’s face and he hummed.

“O-Oh cool. Cool! Wait how are you getting home? Why aren’t you coming?”

“I have work to finish. And I’ll be taking a cab.”

“Hm, got it, I‘ll tell mom.” He waved to her and turned on his heel, walking out.

 

After Thomas left, Ashley grabbed her things, starting a walk across the laboratory to a whole different department. Her heels clicked with every step she took.

 

Today should be easy and simple. She’d come in, help him look over blueprints, point out what ideas had crossed her mind then they’d end it there for the night. The plan crossed mind over and over as she walked before becoming more solidified with every step.

 

Ashley would walk in, it’s currently 5:42 pm by the time she reached Francisco’s lab it would be 5:50 pm.

He’d give his usual peppy greeting, he’d smile, tell a joke and they’d get started at 6:00 pm.

They’d work from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Then they’d say their goodbyes, finishing those at 8:10 pm.

Easy. Simple. Broken down. Ashley liked broken down and simple.

 

Her pale blue eyes flickered up as she came face to face with the door to Francisco’s lab. She nodded to herself before walking in.

“Franc….” She blinked, he was at his desk but his face was covered?

Oh.

He was crying.

This...was not a part of her schedule, what was she supposed to do?

At her voice, he jumped, his eyes were red and very puffy. His hair was a wreck from the way he was breathing Ashley could only assume he was hyperventilating. She could also only assume her standing there silent didn’t help him.

 

But how was she supposed to help? What did she say?

“Are you alright?” The question came out so tangled in both a monotone manner yet confused expression all the same that Francisco gave a sad, cracked sort of laugh. Putting his face in his hands for a moment to wipe the tears from his face.

 

“I-I’m fine. I’m fine ‘s just family stuff.” Francisco shook his head, his crying stopped but his eyes still puffy.

Ashley stood still. As still as a wall, it was almost like she were afraid if she moved any he might start crying again.

“Oh…” Her eyebrows furrowed. She might not have known his exact issue, but she was sure she understood the feeling. “I’m sorry.” She said, her hands at her sides.

“I-It’s cool Ashley, really,” By his face and voice, she could tell it obviously wasn’t ‘cool’ as much as he wanted to say.

 

So she said the only thing she knew might help.

 

“You can call me Ash.”

And it worked, a smile crossed his face and Ashley felt relief rush through her. Which was odd. She found that typically when people cried in front of her she felt uncomfortable. Francisco cleared his throat, wiping his eyes.

 

“S-Sorry do you wanna get started?” He asked. And Ashley nodded, hesitantly moving forward and walking to the work table. Francisco followed, his eyes still slightly puffy but they were going down, and his voice was shaky but it wasn’t as bad.

 

He grabbed a bunch of papers from the side, shuffling through them till he found the designs for the DNA Analyzer.

They started late on Ashley’s schedule. Actually, she wasn’t even sure what time they started working but after a long while of discussing designs, Ashley looked over to find the time was 8:22 pm.

There was a content silence between the two as they sat in swirly chairs, both of them scribbling down things and ideas on their own clipboards. Working with Francisco wasn’t as bad as she originally thought it might have been. Though she still felt a strange sort of since when she thought about how she walked in earlier.

 

“I am sorry about returning to this touchy subject. But...your situation from earlier..I’m sorry.” She frowned once more, “And I would like to offer that if you would like to discuss it I don’t think I’d mind.” Her speech was awkward and like before it made Francisco laugh.

 

“Uhm….” He seemed to hesitate, rubbing the back of his neck in a rather nervous manner. “It’s just, my brother invited me to this family dinner. And I don’t get along with my family too well, in fact, I don’t think they really want me there.” He waved a hand as he spoke.

 

Ashley simply nodded, listening. It was the least she could do after all. Francisco continued speaking, “Anyways uh, I told him I’d go, so my mom called me like an hour later, and we got into an argument. She’s apparently going to be very critical of how I dress, who I bring, the likes.”

 

“How you dress and who you bring?” Ashley tilted her head a bit, her hair falling over her shoulder in the process.

“She wants me to look all fancy, and apparently expects a date but,” He scoffed, “It’s whatever.”

Ashley nodded, a frown pulling at her lips, “Well, I’m sorry. When is it?”

He rolled his eyes, “It’s fine really, and it’s in a week.”

She hummed. There was hesitation in her expression.

 

“I think I understand.”

He blinked, “What do you mean?” It was his turn to look confused. He couldn’t imagine Ashley Morgan having petty family issues.

“When it comes to my mother, Thomas and I always have to be on eggshells. She doesn’t like us getting too comfortable with people, or things, or animals. Anything truly.” Her pale blue eyes looked around. The statement fell from her lips like anything other but Francisco looked shocked.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Ashley pushed up her glasses, “I’m not saying it to make you pity me. I don’t believe we have it bad at all. Life is about simplicity so attachment is bad I suppose.” She shrugged.

Francisco hesitated but nodded, “I...I suppose.” He copied. “But...thank you for letting me talk about it. It actually helped a lot.” He flashed her a bright smile.

 

Ashley nodded, “It’s alright.” Her eyes flickered to the clock, 9:12 pm. “I have to go.” She started to get her things together.

Francisco stood up and nodded, handing her jacket, “Right, right,” Ashley gave him a wave as she took her jacket. Her heels clicking as she started for the door.

 

“O-Oh Ash!”

She turned around with a look of confusion.

“I think you can get comfortable with this--the project and coming here after hours I mean.” He gave a smile. “At least for a little while. You know?”

Ashley blinked.

And then it happened. It happened so fast Francisco nearly missed it.

She smiled. But only for a millisecond.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She said, walking out.


End file.
